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Archive for March, 2009

Swedish Doom legends CANDLEMASS will release “Death Magic Doom”, their latest slab of unrelenting and ultra-heavy Epic Doom, on April 7th! For all of you who can´t wait to hear what mastermind Leif Edling and his henchmen of Metal have got in stock for you, you should definitely hurry to www.myspace.com/candlemass ! Myspace Sweden is hosting the exclusive pre-listening of “Death Magic Doom” in ALL its glory starting today!!! Check this masterpiece out NOW!

KIUAS, THE Finnish five-piece who were last seen in the
UK Special Guesting with Firewind, have been added to
the bill for Hammerfest 2009.

The Metal Hammer sponsored festival will take place on April 24th & 25th at Pontins
Holiday Camp in Prestatyn, North Wales, with Kiuas set to
appear on the 24th. Other bands on the bill include Opeth,
Saxon, Sepultura & Hammerfall.

In celebration of this one-off UK appearance, Spinefarm
Records UK will be releasing a digital covers EP on April 27th
featuring the following tracks:-

Kiuas’ most recent studio album, ‘The New Dark Age’,
was released in the UK in May 2008, followed by the
‘War Anthems’ EP in September – a six-tracker that was
initially available on the Firewind dates only.

The Bloodstock team are pleased to announce that GIRLSCHOOL have been added to the bill for BOA 2009.

Girlschool emerged from the highly prolific New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement which dominated the UK rock scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, and spawned the likes of Iron Maiden, Saxon, Def Leppard and Diamond Head. Originally operating as a covers band under the moniker Painted Lady, the band changed their name to Girlschool in 1978, releasing their debut single Take It All Away the same year. This led to interest from Motörhead’s management and a support slot on the Overkill tour in early 1979. The tour brought the band to the attention of Motörhead’s label Bronze Records who signed Girlschool and issued their debut album Demolition in the spring of 1980.

1981 saw the release of their second album Hit And Run, a sell-out UK tour and a headline slot at the prestigious Reading Festival. Their notorious collaboration with Motörhead – the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre EP – also appeared in ’81, hit No. 5 in the charts and helped make this the most successful period in their career. After releasing Screaming Blue Murder in 1982, the band hit the road in the U.S. for stadium tours alongside Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Scorpions and Blue Öyster Cult. Their fourth album, Play Dirty, followed in ’83.

Line-up changes and a softening of the band’s signature sound saw both their profile and popularity dwindle as the ‘80s progressed, and they would spend the greater part of the 1990s inactive after the release of their eponymous 1992 album. They eventually returned in 2002 with the 21st Anniversary – Not that Innocent album, rebuilding their fortunes from the ground up and issuing Believe in 2004 and their latest full-length Legacy last year. 2008 also saw the release of a 30th anniversary DVD celebrating the career of the longest running female rock band in the world.

“It’s about time we rise from the dormant and break the silence, to give you all an update from the MNEMIC camp! It’s been too damn long since the last update, which I must apologize for. First of all, a really late Happy New Year from the lads in MNEMIC to all of you reading this. Since we took a break from touring in 2008, apart from playing a few shows with METALLICA (Yes, I still mention this cause I’m damn proud of it!), things have been quite productive. We have definitely not been lazy, that’s for sure. As we did recharge our batteries, in this break, we also felt the hunger for creativity and started writing new material. Already by now I can confirm that we have 11 brand new songs written, and we are still a long way from finishing. The plan is of course to write as many songs as possible until we are 110% satisfied with all the material. For now the title of the album is set as “Sons of the System”. Why is this taking so long you may ask? Because we want to be totally satisfied with this release and not put out an album we just worked on two months in advance prior to the recordings. On the other hand, as the release date has not yet been set, I assure you, this will definitely not be a Chinese Democracy in the making. On a last note, we have quite a few surprises up our sleeve for this release….and as for touring, there will only be shows co-inciding with the release of the new album, which means you’ll have to wait a bit if you want to see us live. Its all part of a greater plan! “
Mircea / MNEMIC

WITH INTEREST in Eastern culture continuing to swell, Tokyo four-piece
D’espairsray have confirmed the May 24th release of the 12-track ‘Redeemer’
via Spinefarm Records UK – the band’s third studio recording since first
coming together in 1999.

Featuring tracks such as ‘Kamikaze’, ‘Lizard’ and the title track itself, also the
current single/video, ‘Redeemer’ – the follow-up to 2007’s ‘Mirror’ album –
will come complete with a bonus DVD featuring the aforementioned promo clip
plus a behind-the-scenes insight into just how it was put together.

D’espairsray first came to Europe back in 2004, playing headline dates
in Paris & Berlin, and in 2006 they became the first Japanese band to
appear at the prestigious Wacken Festival in Germany; two years later,
they became a part of the ‘Taste Of Chaos’ extravaganza in North
America, playing shows in over 30 different cities, and plans are
currently being laid for these highly distinctive rockers to visit the UK
this summer.

MUCC – J-ROCK STARS’ NEW ALBUM ‘KYUTAI’ SET FOR RELEASE ON MAY 24th 2009 VIA SPINEFARM RECORDS UK…

IN THE wake of a successful stint on last year’s ‘Taste Of Chaos’ tour, Japanese rockers MUCC have confirmed a May 24th release for latest studio album ‘Kyutai’ – the follow-up to 2007’s ‘Shion’ outing.

Featuring 11 brand new tracks including first single/video ‘Sora To Ito’, the initial pressing of the album will come with a bonus DVD recorded at the band’s 2008 show at the Irving Plaza in New York.

MUCC are hoping to return to the UK for further live shows later this year.

ISRATHOUM’S FIRST full-length album, ‘Monument Of Brimstone’, is
now confirmed for release, some 17 years after the band first came
together – although the ‘Israthoum’ name has only been in use
since 1998.

A barrage of brutal black metal, with atmospheric &
folk-inspired moments stirred into the cauldron for taste, ‘MOB’
is the follow-up to a succession of demo recordings and, most
recently, the limited edition ‘Black Scenery Avatar’ six-tracker (2004).

Israthoum originally came together in Portugal in the early ’90s under the
‘Primitive Satanic Grindcore’ banner, before relocating to The Netherlands.

A FULL 13 years after disbanding, Finnish Black Metal pioneers
Beherit return with new studio album ‘Engram’.

The band, who first came together in 1989, have been a major
influence on the underground scene, breaking new ground with
experimental and ambient sounds – although the seven-track
‘Engram’ represents a return to the Black Metal genre, very much
a ‘band’ recording…

“These days, hipsters flood over bulletin boards and black metal
bands sound like happy carnival melody music. I respect only a handful
of newer bands and talking about your metal world in general, I would
rather go back to my cave” – Nuclear Holocausto

'Engram' will be available digitally from April 9th, to coincide with the full
moon, and plans are being discussed for a double vinyl package in a
gatefold sleeve.

A FULL 13 years after disbanding, Finnish Black Metal pioneers
Beherit return with new studio album ‘Engram’.

The band, who first came together in 1989, have been a major
influence on the underground scene, breaking new ground with
experimental and ambient sounds – although the seven-track
‘Engram’ represents a return to the Black Metal genre, very much
a ‘band’ recording…

“These days, hipsters flood over bulletin boards and black metal
bands sound like happy carnival melody music. I respect only a handful
of newer bands and talking about your metal world in general, I would
rather go back to my cave” – Nuclear Holocausto

'Engram' will be available digitally from April 9th, to coincide with the full
moon, and plans are being discussed for a double vinyl package in a
gatefold sleeve.

DRAGONFORCE, the shredmasters supreme whose latest ‘Ultra Beatdown’ album charted strongly all over the world, have confirmed the Re-issue of their debut ‘Valley Of The Damned’ release via Spinefarm Records UK.

This wonderfully explosive nine-tracker – set for UK release on May 24th 2009 – showed that the band’s signature style (expansive material, soaring vocals, guitar pyrotechnics) was very much in place from day one, with songs such as “Black Fire”, “Disciples Of Babylon” and the title track itself showing a band both ambitious and accomplished beyond its years.

In order to make this 09 Re-issue something special, all of the material has been both Remixed & Remastered (by guitarist Herman Li and regular producer Karl Groom), a bonus DVD added and the artwork generally brought up to date.

The DVD is especially interesting, containing a number of different elements including a live version of ‘Valley Of The Damned’ filmed/recorded in Osaka, Japan, on the bands first ever visit to that country. Add to this a selection of footage captured and commented on by the guys themselves, and you have an overall package that provides both the musical goods plus an insight into what goes on behind the scenes – which in the world of Dragonforce seems to consist of near-constant insults & banter, healthy amounts of ‘drinking’ plus the inappropriate consumption of corned beef!